


Girls Day Out

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Family Dynamics, Gen, Gift Giving, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, Shopping, Sibling Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Vanya wishes that she could be a part of the world Allison exists in, with the expensive clothing and the flashy colours and the money, but deep down, she knows that isn't her. She knows that her comfort zone settles in muted colours and dark tones and baggy clothes that hide her.But maybe if she can't find anything for her in this store that Allison has dragged her out to, then maybe she could buy gifts for all her siblings, and get into their good graces a little faster. And Klaus would look so good in that crop top...
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone
Comments: 18
Kudos: 287





	Girls Day Out

“Vanya?” Allison called as she entered the room in their childhood mansion that Vanya’s violin was coming from. The sweet music stopped when Vanya heard Allison’s voice and she lowered her violin to her side. “Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you. Are you busy?”

Frowning, Vanya sort of stepped back and away from Allison as if shocked that she was talking to her at all. “Uh... no?” she looked so confused and startled that Allison’s heart ached, but she tried to ignore it as she walked deeper into the room.

“Good,” she said instead. “Because we’re going shopping.” At Vanya’s confused look, Allison shrugged. “Girls day. How about it?”

“Um... yeah, sure,” Vanya turned to carefully put her violin back into its case. “But... are you sure you want me to come along? I don’t want to ruin your day.”

Allison snorted. “Ruin my day? Vanya, you’re my _sister_. I wouldn’t have invited you out if I didn’t want you with me.”

Still not looking too convinced, Vanya finished putting away her things and grabbed her jacket before following Allison out the door and into the car. They drove in silence, Vanya starring out the passenger side window the whole way, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the store. Allison grabbed her bag and took off her seatbelt, but Vanya still hadn’t moved. “You coming?”

Shyly, Vanya ran a hand through her hair. “Are you sure you want me to come? You can still change your mind if you want. I won’t mind or be offended or anything.”

Half in and half out of the car, one heeled boot already on the floor, Allison paused and turned back to Vanya. The look on her face was somewhat dejected, but now that Allison was looking at her, _really_ looking at her, it was a familiar expression, and Allison had no idea how much she hated it. “Vanya, of _course_ I want you with me.”

“You wouldn’t be... embarrassed?” Vanya asked sceptically. “What if there’s paparazzi there? What if they take a picture of you with... with _me_?”

“Good for them. Let them take whatever photo’s they want,” Allison scoffed. “You’re my sister. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed to be seen in public with you. We’re here to shop, maybe get you some new clothes, return this ugly thing I brought, and then leave. Maybe go for a coffee or an ice-cream or something stronger afterwards. Who gives a fuck what they think? I want you here with me,” she reached a manicured hand and gently touched Vanya’s face, and hated the way she flinched under her touch. “I don’t give a fuck about them. I give a fuck about _you_. Forget them. We’re going to have a girls day and nothing is going to change that.”

Slowly, Vanya began to smile, although it looked a little bit reluctant, and she agreed to finally get out of the car and followed Allison into the store.

It wasn’t like any store that Vanya was used to. All the clothes were expensive and the accessories were extremely flashy, filled with rhinestones and lined with gold. For Vanya, she usually wore baggy clothes in muted tones, not at all what Allison wore, and Vanya shopped at second-hand stores and places like Target, and this was nothing like that at all. There were lots of people in the store, all wearing clothes that probably cost more than her apartment, and from the moment she walked in Vanya felt like she didn’t belong and like she had no right to be there. “Allison, maybe I should go wait in the car...”

“What for?” Allison asked, pushing her blingy sunglasses to the top of her head. “If you’re worried about all the other people in here, don’t be. They won’t say a word. They wouldn’t dare.”

Eventually, Vanya gave her a small smile and stuck her hands in her pockets. “Alright. If you say so.”

“I do say so,” Allison beamed. She waved a hand over at all the racks of clothes that overtook the large warehouse floor. “Why don’t you go and pick out some new clothes while I go and return this hideous thing. I’ll meet up with you when I’m done? We can put on a fashion show.”

Honestly, all the clothes and the people browsing the racks were pretty daunting to Vanya, but this was the first time in a long time that her an Allison had been on good terms and that they had actually hung out together, so she put her fear and trepidation behind her for a moment and nodded and made her way towards the furthest rack of expensive clothing while Allison broke off to hunt for the front desk.

People looked at her as she passed them- not like there were many people in the store anyway, all the items were too expensive for anyone but the elite- and Vanya tried to ignore them and hide her face behind her hair. She didn’t like all their eyes on her, and she didn’t like being alone in a store like this.

She combed through the racks, looking for something that she liked, but everything was either too revealing or too tight or too... too... _Allison_. Not like that was a bad thing, but Allison had money and she spent it where she pleased, but Vanya didn’t have that luxury. Allison arrived at simple functions covered in bling and colour and things that were obviously expensive because she wanted to stand out, but Vanya wore neutrals and browns and baggy clothes because she wanted to blend in, stay unseen and unnoticed for as long as she could. This store didn’t seem to cater to that type of clientele.

But then out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a big black skirt that was more like a very excentric tutu, short at the front and long at the back, and the moment she saw it she imagined Klaus wearing it and twirling down the street so the frills flowed out behind him in a crop top and pair of matching heels, and she pulled the hanger off the rack and laid it gently over her arm.

When Allison finally returned not too long later, looking much happier than she had when she walked into the store, Vanya had already gathered a steady collection of clothes. The long black tutu, a sequined crop top, a navy vest with pink flowers on it, a mesh shirt, a rainbow pair of high-heels that she found kicked under a chair and now dangled in her fingers, a very formal looking long black tie that almost seemed to shimmer a little bit when she moved it and a brand new pair of black combat boots with straps and studs and a steel-capped toe. “Uh... what’s all this?”

“Clothes,” Vanya said as Allison took the two pairs of shoes from her to give her some more movement. “I thought Klaus would like these, and Diego needed a new pair of boots, and Five doesn’t have any ties left. His last one got all singed.”

“Oh,” Allison was at a loss for words as Vanya wandered past her to look through another rack. “Alright. I just thought you’d be looking for clothes that you could wear.”

Vanya was momentarily distracted by a rack filled with jackets and she pulled a golden, mirrored one down and rested it across her arm with the others. “This store isn’t really for me,” she said. “I don’t wear things so... flashy. And I can’t wait to see the look on Klaus’s face when he sees all of this...”

Allison cleared her throat. “Right,” she let Vanya continue to look for a little longer, just poking and prodding through the racks until she settled on something she found interesting and pulled it down. “Uh... there’s really nothing here that you like... for you...?”

She watched her sister pause from where she was putting an intricate-looking scarf back on the rack. “Allison, I know you’re trying to be nice and to include me in your life and all, but really, we’re both very different,” Vanya turned to face her over her armloads of clothes and Allison was glad to see that the smile on her face was genuine. “I’m not... not part of this world. I never have been and I never will be, and I’m alright with that. I wear... well, I don’t wear this. But Klaus does. And Five would wear expensive suits if they would make them for him without treating him like he was a kid trying to act like a man. And if Diego had the money, he’d probably buy a lot of this too. He’d defiantly buy these boots, at least,” she waved with her free hand at the boots that hung from Allison’s fingertips. “I haven’t always been the best sister, and we haven’t always been the traditional family, but now that we’re getting there... I don’t know. I want to make them happy. Their lives have just been so unhappy recently that I feel like if I can cheer them up a little bit, that’s what I want to do.”

After all of that, Allison couldn’t help but pause, and the pause was so long that Vanya eventually turned away and returned to perusing the racks of ostentatious clothing. She hadn’t heard anything like that come out of Vanya’s mouth in... well, ever. “Alright, that’s fine,” Allison eventually agreed once the shock had worn off. “Well, if we’re going to be buying clothes for everyone else, I think Grace would like that skirt- Diego could give it to her as a birthday gift or something. I know he’s wanted to do something like that for a while, but hasn’t been sure what to do.”

The smile on Vanya’s face was brighter and more genuine than any Allison had seen that day, and Allison felt her heart swell three sizes larger at the sight of it. It was bigger and brighter than she had ever seen it. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Allison laughed. “And we can probably get Pogo a new vest, but like, in kids sizes. And we’ll find Luther a new turtleneck, but less hideous than the one he already has.”

“How the hell am I going to pay for all this?” the realization suddenly hit Vanya hard that she didn’t have the money to buy herself anything, let alone an item of clothing for every member of her family. “Shit, I didn’t think of that.”

Smiling, Allison slung an arm over Vanya’s shoulder, and the shoes she held in her fingers clanked together. “Don’t worry, _we’ll_ be fine. Besides, the guy at the register owes me. And if he doesn’t want to help, then... let’s just say that I’ve heard a rumour that he does.”

Vanya giggled. “And then afterwards we can go and get a drink. I think I really need a drink.”

Once they’d finished their drinks, Allison drove them home, and she’d never seen Vanya so eager to enter their childhood home in all her life. “Klaus!” She called once she walked through the front door and past the remains of the ruined chandelier. “Diego? Five? Come down, I’ve got something for you.”

Slowly, the rest of the siblings started to arrive, except for Five, who materialized in the corner in a flash of blue with a cocktail in his hand. Vanya started pulling items out of the heavy bags she carried before anyone could open their mouths to ask what was going on. “Klaus, these are for you,” she said as she handed him the heavy armload of clothes that she had carefully folded, and his eyes widened in awe. She placed the rainbow painted high-heels on top of the pile. “Those too. Go try it on!”

Grinning, Allison watched Klaus sprint away and a door slam somewhere as he went to get changed. “I’m going to give these to Luther and Pogo,” she announced, waving her own bag of things as she ascended the stairs.

“Diego, these are for you,” Vanya continued, handing him the boots. Diego took them, stunned, and they dangled limply in his hands. “I thought you’d like them. Steel-toed, so that should help with how many times you break your foot kicking in doors and breaking faces and whatever else it is you do at night.”

Diego looked shocked. He would have been less surprised if Vanya had started growing a second head. “What- Vanya, I don’t know what to say.”

Vanya shrugged. “You don’t have to say anything. I just saw them and thought of you, is all. I brought something for everyone else, so there’s no reason why I wouldn’t buy you something too.” She reached into her bag and pulled out the lovely skirt Allison had helped her pick out and the blue apron with the butterflies. “And this is for you too. Allison mentioned you wanting to buy Grace- uh, mum a gift, so I thought that these would look nice on her, and if you’d like I could help you wrap them.” She seemed to falter. “I mean... only if you want. I could return them if you don’t like them...”

Unsurprisingly, Diego’s face seemed to soften, and he hugged the boots to his chest with one hand as he gingerly, tenderly took the clothes out of Vanya’s outstretched arms. “Thanks Vanya. These are... these are really great. I a-appreciate it.”

Her grin returned, Vanya turned to Five, who was now looking at the exchange with mild interest, and pulled the final item from her bag before discarding it on the ground. “And Five, this is for you. I know how much you like ties, and I know you’re favourite one just got burned, so I thought I could help replace your collection...” her voice trailed off and her excitement dimmed as Five didn’t react. Even Diego held his breath as he watched them and willed Five with his mind to _just take the fucking tie._

Just when Vanya was starting to give up hope, Five reached out and slowly, oh so slowly, took the tie from Vanya and held it carefully in his hands, and examined it with a critical eye. “This is a lovely gift, Vanya,” he said softly. “And you’re right; I have needed to add new ties to my stock. It’s been... yes. This is quite nice. Thank you.”

Shyly, Vanya stood back, just as Klaus burst through the door in a pair of rainbow heeled shoes, a frilly back tutu that was floor-length at the back and very revealing at the front and a sequinned crop top that said _‘teenage dirtbag’_ in a big pink heart. “Vanya!” He exclaimed when he marched up to her. “What the actual fuck!”

Vanya grinned. “I hoped you would like it. I also brought you these,” she said, holding out the mesh shirt, the navy vest with the pink flowers and the mirrored gold jacket. His eyes widened as he took them. “I don’t know, they just screamed ‘Klaus’.”

“I’m not going to make him solid because I don’t have the energy right now, but Ben fucking loves this look,” Klaus said. “And I swear to god, Vanya, you and I need to go shopping more often. Why didn’t you tell me you had style and taste and _class_?”

Diego snorted from where he was leaning against the wall. “You call this ‘class’? I call this ‘what you see walking down a dark alley at one in the morning’ and I hate that it works on you.”

Cackling, Klaus twirled, and just like Vanya had imagined, it flared out behind him like wings. “Have you seen my body, Diego? I can pull off anything and everything.”

“Which is why I also brought you the vest and that mesh shirt and that hard-to-look-at jacket,” Vanya laughed as Klaus danced beside her and took her hand to twirl her around. “I know you like to experiment. Maybe you can wear the mesh shirt under the vest? I’m sure there’s someone skirt you could steal to match it.”

Klaus gasped loudly and slapped his hands to his face. “Oh my god, I never thought about that.”

Laughing, Diego finished putting his feet into the boots and laced them up, and he stood differently, with more authority. Klaus twirled in new skirt and Diego stood differently in his new boots, and Vanya could just imagine that he was wiggling his toes inside the steel cap. “Jesus, that’s the last thing we need. More terrible fashion choices from Klaus.”

Vanya left the two of them to deal with the inevitable argument that would ensue and turned to Five, who had already affixed the tie around his neck and was now looking at it appraisingly like one would consider fine art at a snooty gallery. “What did Allison get Luther and Pogo?” he asked her when she approached, remembering that Allison had left them to give them their own gifts.

“She got a vest for Pogo, and a new turtleneck for Luther,” Vanya replied.

Diego stopped his light-hearted bickering with Klaus. “Great, just what he needs, another fucking turtleneck. That atrocity is so much worse than anything Klaus could wear.”

“At least we agree on something,” Klaus mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “And Ben agrees.”

“I’m glad you like them,” Vanya laughed. “I was a little worried that you’d ask me to take them back and return them.”

“Are you kidding?” Klaus scoffed, lifting one foot up so Vanya could see the bottom of his shoe and the painfully sharp high-heel that would probably start gouging holes in the woodwork eventually, and she was just glad that he decided to wear underwear today. “This is the best gift I’ve ever been given and I’m counting drugs in that category. I wouldn’t let you. They’re already on my body and I’m never taking them off.”

“I must admit, I too have become rather attached to this tie,” Five admitted, looking it over again and gently holding it in the palm of his hand. “It’s a wonderful accessory and has already risen to the top as my current favourite. I would prefer if I kept it.”

Grinning, Diego had stomped over in his new heavy shoes and threw an arm over Vanya’s shoulders. “Same here. The only way you’ll be able to take these boots from me is if you pry them off my feet. You better get used to seeing me in them because I don’t think I’ll ever be taking them off.”

Vanya couldn’t help but laugh- this was all she’d ever wanted, and now that she had it, she realized what she had been missing out on, but somehow, she thought that she could get this again, much easier than before. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear it.”


End file.
